Tag Archives: catering

Catering For a Celiac Diet

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Catering for a celiac diet can be quite difficult at first. Basically, all that’s involved is excluding gluten, but it’s easy to make a mistake if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs.

So, first off, is the person you are cooking for newly diagnosed? If this is the case, it’s likely that they will also need to avoid milk products, because the mechanism which digests them has been damaged, and there hasn’t been time to heal yet. Of course, even if they have been diagnosed for years, they may still have an intolerance to dairy foods (70% of adults can’t digest lactose, a protein found in milk products, for example).

Start with a clean slate

If you are the celiac in question, your first job is to go through your kitchen cupboards and throw out all the items that contain gluten. The most obvious of these are flour (except cornflour/cornstarch) and barley (and mixes containing it). Most people don’t have rye or rye flour, but if you do, that has to go as well.

Soy sauce and malt products, including malt vinegar, should also be disposed of, and malted drinks such as Horlicks, Ovaltine and Milo go in the sack along with the rest.

Next you need to check the labels of everything else. If you have breakfast cereals, they probably need to go – even rice based ones like Rice Krispies often use malt in the flavoring. Oats which are not labeled “gluten free” can also go in the trashcan. Oats themselves don’t contain gluten, but most are contaminated by being processed in the same factory as wheat or barley.

Anything which has unspecified starch on the label must go. This will most likely include things like seafood sticks (“crab sticks”) and low fat yogurt. That yogurt by Onken with the wheat added to it is obviously a no-no as well.

Ingredients to watch out for are starch of unspecified origin and malt/malted products, as well as oats, as already mentioned. Soy sauce and monosodium glutamate (frequent in Chinese cooking, but can be found in almost anything) should be avoided. MSG is a chemical, but it’s often made using wheat in the processing. Many celiacs report that it has a bad effect on them, despite “scientific” reassurance that it’s safe.

Most coatings and savory toppings contain wheat flour or breadcrumbs, and many marinades contain wheat flour as well.

Burgers and sausages, in fact most prepared meat products, contain bread or flour to bind the ingredients and/or as filler. There are 100% beef burgers available – but check the label even on these.

All sauces, whether ketchup or cook-in-sauces, should be inspected to ensure they have not been thickened with flour or “starch”. Top quality ketchup may be OK, but the cheaper varieties will most likely have to go. Mayonnaise by Hellman’s is fine (or it was last time I checked – you check your jar as well, to be safe) – cheaper varieties may not be.

Your final port of call is the drinks cabinet. Whisky, bourbon and most beer, lager, etc use gluten-containing grains in manufacture. The makers try to claim that there is no gluten left in the final product. Don’t believe them. Celiacs have learned to their cost that there is enough to give a nasty reaction.

Finally, remember that gluten can contaminate surfaces and chopping boards in the cleanest kitchen, so give the whole place a good scrub down, just to be on the safe side.

Having done all that (and had a rest), you will probably need to go shopping. Choose a store that has a good selection of fresh fruit and vegetables. Buy some big potatoes that you can cook in their skins, a couple of bags of rice (brown is best, but it’s up to you what you choose). These will help to fill the space left by bread, pasta and pastry.

Buy unprocessed meat, such as steaks and chops. If buying frozen ground (minced) meat, check there are no additives. Get stocked up with lots of stuff you can cook quickly, or eat straight away without cooking.

Raid the spice section and pick up lots of interesting looking seasonings to spice up your meals. If there’s a gluten free section, buy some gluten free pasta and some rice flour – which is great for thickening sauces and things like that.

Cooking gluten free can be as simple as grilling a steak, frying a few potatoes and making a salad to go on the side. Old-style cooking, like your granny used to do. It’s not too difficult, so long as you don’t have any of those dangerous foods around to tempt you.

Popularity: 3% [?]

How to Avoid Patronizing and Catering to an Audience

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Catering is a people-pleaser attitude. It can be very subtle as we all, more or less, grow up wanting to please. These attitudes transfer over when we speak or express ourselves publicly and professionally. They are intentions and carry a message. Too much politeness is very often a sure sign that someone is lacking confidence, it can also be a manipulative strategy. Apologizing too much is another example.

Catering, as a mode or style, comes from poor self-confidence and lack of clear purpose. Trying to “make friends” with an audience can be devastating; the effect is as disappointing as a magician showing you how the trick is done. It robs us of the “magic” of the trick. We love to be fooled as an audience member; it is part of the game and subconscious expectation.

The key dynamics are take charge and control. There are two camps in public speaking and performance situations. Your audience is on one side (even if it is one person) and you are on the other. You are temporarily separated by an invisible energy field so that you can “perform” or “demonstrate” your act. You need that freedom. Your audience is always a passive spectator.

Patronizing is equally devastating. We have all been patronized one way or the other. When a speaker or communicator does that, it always tends to leave us uncomfortable and annoyed. Patronizing stems from poor self-confidence as well. It is unfortunately often connected to earlier childhood inferiority complexes. It is a compensation mechanism. I patronize as a way to protect myself. The paradox is that if you demonstrate to an audience or a person that you need “protection” from them, they’ll end up feeling aggressive toward you.

It is sometimes difficult to realize that all human interactions rest on “VERBS.” There is always a verb active. Some are effective and pro-life, while others are energy zappers. Some are under our control, and others are unconscious.
Here’s a short list of ineffective verbs to avoid getting in action about: to patronize, to condescend, to bully, to withhold, to mock, to accuse, to reproach, to talk down, to victimize, to ridicule, to cater to, to avoid, to harass, to condemn, to ignore, to flee, to nag, etc.

Become more aware of your “automatic” communication verbs! The power is in the verb you use, followed by its natural flow of actions, gestures, facial expressions and words. Remember your audience follows your lead, which is your “verb in action.”

A good exercise is to ask a few people you work with, what your communication verbs are. Ask them if there are any traces of pleasing, patronizing or any traces of the above mentioned verbs.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Marketing Your Catering Business

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Using Social Media to Connect With Current and Potential Customer

Social Media is the new “Word of Mouth” marketing, specifically as it relates to the online space. The Internet, as everything else, evolves. People are the driving force of this change. Homepages and Email were the beginning stages of the internet, then businesses came in joined the space, then message boards, then picture and video sharing. Eventually that was not enough for the population. Social Media really started coming in full bloom when Internet visitors became engaged in the online content. YouTube opened up videos to commenting, websites allowed you to vote on content, and eventually sites based solely on connecting and communication exploded. As a caterer, you want to join this conversation on two playing fields: Locally and Nationally. Locally, you want to use social media to spread the word about you and your catering company. Nationally, you want to know what other caterers are doing. On both accounts, you can use social media to find out exactly what your clients are looking for in a catering service. You can do this by easily inserting yourself into the online conversation. An important thing to remember is online, everybody is fair game – you can learn and communicate all at the same time – social media creates and open door policy of learning.

As a caterer there are great things you can do in the realm of social media. Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Online Communities, and even YouTube are social media tools that you can use to market your business.

Facebook

Facebook started out as a social networking site strictly for college students. As always, the online world changed the way people looked at Facebook. Facebook has grown substantially for all types of businesses. Whether you’re a musician, artist, non-profit, or catering company Facebook is for you. With your Facebook account you can join groups on catering so you can learn what other caterers are doing nationwide. You should also start your own group or “fan page”. Then, all of your Facebook friends and clients can join your Facebook fan page and you can show off to all potential clients all of the people you’ve done business with in the past. Think of a Facebook fan page as an instant testimonial section for your catering business. The best part? Your clients can post messages on your Facebook wall that describe how much they “loved all the dishes at their wedding” or how “ABC Catering made my event so special because I didn’t have to worry about anything!” You can post pictures of your events, the happy smiles of your clients, the delicious food and the preparations you made to each unique event. It’s a perfect place to show off your talents because a Facebook fan page is casual and allows you to connect with your current and potential customers.

Twitter

Twitter is a social media tool that simply asks, “What are you doing?” It allows you to answer that question and follow people that interest you who are also answering this same question. By keeping up with their day-to-day, you learn more about them and vice-versa. As a caterer you can really use Twitter to get involved in the discussions and choices people make when selecting a caterer.

Your Daily Tweets

Everyday you should tweet about new Blog posts on your website, Videos that you have posted on your website, events that you’re working on, clients that you’re working with, recipes that you would like to share, news, and testimonials for your company. It is a communication tool, and you should use it as such. The more you have to share with people the faster you can build rapport.

The Search Tool

A powerful and under utilized tool is the search. Whether it’s Google or Twitter searching gives you the pot of gold at the end of the social media rainbow. For instance: http://search.twitter.com allows you to search keywords for what people are doing RIGHT NOW. Right now you can figure out what people are talking about when it comes to catering.

A quick search of Twitter for “Caterer” gives us a GREAT example of what people are talking about. Here’s what they’re saying and what we can learn:

“Just got off the phone with a caterer. Breathing. Breathing.” – This person is obviously stressed–a caterer is part of a big event and he needs to feel comfortable and less stressed

“Today, the caterer gave me a little discount because I was nice.”
– Although it would have been nice for him to mention the caterer by name, this tweet shows how a little relationship can go a long way

“Welcome to Twitter, Meg! My most favorite caterer ever!”
– Proof that other caterers are on twitter already!

“Purple dot restaurant/caterer in Seattle delivers mass quantities of food. Helped make our public service dinner a success. Thanks guys! — Positive feedback in a public forum for one caterer’s company!”
–If I searched for “Purple Dot” on twitter because I was looking for comments on a caterer, I’d see a positive comment already!

“How does caterer not get directions BEFORE they leave for their destination? And how do they justify answering questions like this, I see trees.”
– This comment shows that not everyone is happy on twitter — but it’s a learning experience for you! Clients are smart and opinionated. Moral: Get directions!

This search was generated at 11:00pm on a Thursday evening. This is a small sample of what people have been saying as it relates to “Caterer” in one day. These are all within ONE day using only one keyword search. What if you searched for “caterers,” “catering,” “looking for a catering company,” “problem with catering company?” It’s like reading the minds of those who have a need or information on catering.

Using the search tool to find potential clients

You can use Twitter’s search function as a positive and beneficial version of the yellow pages, in reverse. Instead of them scouring the yellow pages for you–look for clients on the Internet.

With Twitter Search, you can filter your search down to cities or a mile radius.

Example: Search for “looking for a caterer” within 75 miles of your city and you can find potential clients. You can then follow them, reply to their message and let them know that you are interested in putting some quotes together for them.

Be careful, do not abuse Twitter and simply follow a large number of people in order to gain their business. You should use Twitter as a resource to connect with current and potential customers and provide value. Begin by following those people you’ve worked with in the past and other people you know.

Popularity: 4% [?]